Women's Basketball Inks Three in the Spring Signing Period
May 13, 2011 | Women's Basketball
May 13, 2011
Louisville, Ky. - Louisville head coach Jeff Walz has announced that Monny Niamke, Jude Schimmel and Bria Smith have all signed to play for the University of Louisville next season. The three signees join McDonald's All-American Sara Hammond to give the Cardinals another Top 10 recruiting class. Louisville becomes one of three schools with two signees ranked in the Top 12 of the HoopGurlz rankings.
"This late signing class solidifies our back court and will no doubt put us in a position to dial up the pressure on opponents," Walz stated. "We couldn't be happier about addressing the needs of our team along with adding wonderful young women who will be great ambassadors to the university and our community."
Below is a list of signees:
Monny Niamke, 5-5, Point Guard, Paris, France (Victor Hugo)
Niamke has played for the French National U16, U17 and U18 teams the last five years. Last season she helped guide them to a silver medal in the FIBA U17 World Championships. Last season she was named the MVP of the European Tournament in Fougeres (France). She also won a gold medal at the 2009 Youth Olympic Games in Finland with the U16 national team. She also helped the U16 team win the bronze medal at the 2009 European Championship in Italy.
She has helped guide her club to three straight French Championships. She finished the season averaging 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Last season she was named MVP of the French Championship after scoring 33 points in the game. She also earned Rookie of the Year honors in the French league as well. "Monny is one of the best young guards in all of Europe," said Walz. "She brings to the team one element we have been lacking for quite some time, pure speed. She is very skilled on the perimeter and will utilize her quickness to attack the basket and distribute the ball. She also has the capability to be a lock down defender and cause havoc in our defensive schemes."
Jude Schimmel, 5-5, Combo Guard, Mission, Ore. (Franklin)
Schimmel finished her senior year averaging 28.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 7.3 steals per game. She earned 5A first team all-state honors this season while finishing her career with 1,546 career points. She scored a career-high 51 points in December. Schimmel also earned first team all-city honors and was an Oregon All-Star for the Northwest Shootout. As a junior she averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 5.0 steals per game. Along with her sister Shoni, she helped lead Franklin to a sixth place finish in the state championship. She earned all-state honorable mention honors as a junior and was named to the OSAA State Champions 6A All-Tournament Team. She was also named the Joyce Washington (Portland) All-Star Game MVP.
She has played AAU basketball for the Oregon Reign from 2008-10, Team Concept-Fire in 2009-10 and American Horse from 2002-07. Schimmel also lettered in softball and cross country.
"We are thrilled to add another Schimmel to our Louisville family," Walz said. "Jude will have the opportunity to impact our game with her athleticism and ability to score off the bounce. She is as hard a worker as I have seen in some time, and will no doubt be on the finishing end of precision plays with her sister."
Bria Smith, 5-10, Combo Guard, Massapequa, NY (Christ the King)
Smith is ranked as the No. 8 player in the nation by HoopGurlz. This season she was named a McDonald's and WBCA All-American. She was also named a first team Parade All-American and earned third team honors as a junior. She was named Miss Basketball for the state of New York and was recently named the New York Daily News Player of the Year. Smith finished her senior year averaging 21.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. She also earned all-state honor and all-city honors for the third straight year.
A member of the USA team at the FIBA U17 World Championships, Smith averaged 5.1 points per game as Team USA went unbeaten in its eight tournament games and defeated France for the gold medal. She also helped the U17 team earn a 2-1 record to capture the pre-U17 World Championship tournament in Spain. Smith was also invited to the USA Basketball U19 trials held May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In her junior year at Christ the King, Smith led the Royals to the New York State Federation Class AA title and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after netting 19 points and collecting nine boards in the championship game. She finished her junior year averaging 18 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game.
Smith played for Christ the King head coach Bob Mackey and on the AAU level for Philadelphia Belles coaches Mike Flynn and Fran Burbridge. "This is a monumental moment for our program and fans of Louisville basketball," said Walz. "Bria brings with her a pedigree of success and star status. She is an electrifying scorer with a great basketball mind. Her competitiveness is unsurpassed, and her will to win is paramount. She comes from one of the premier high school and AAU programs in the country and will no doubt elevate our program to new heights."
